Controversial rapper Eminem (real name Marshall Mathers) makes his big screen debut with 8 MILE, a bracing drama directed by the increasingly audacious Curtis Hanson. Set in 1995 in the bleak, urban battle zone of Detroit, the film follows the struggles of a young man who is desperate to make a better life for himself. Jimmy Smith, Jr., better known as Rabbit, is destined for a life of squalor. Living in a cramped trailer with his deadbeat mom (Kim Basinger), Rabbit works in a factory to make ends meet. His only outlet is hip-hop. Possessing a talent for freestyle rapping, Rabbit still hasn't managed to unleash his true potential. But his best friend, Future (Mekhi Phifer), is determined to make that happen. Future forces Rabbit to enter a freestyle battle that he blew the week before, giving him another chance at redemption. Hanson's stellar portrait of lower-class urban disillusionment, shot with uncompromisingly gritty realism by Rodrigo Prieto, proves that the issue is no longer about race, it's about money. Eminem delivers a bold performance as the troubled youngster who is still trying to find his place in a harsh, cruel world.

Theatrical release: November 8, 2002

DVD Features:

Region 1
Keep Case
Anamorphic Widescreen - 2.35
Letterbox - 2.35
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
Dolby Digital 5.1 - French
Dolby Surround - English
Dolby Surround - Spanish
DTS Surround 5.1 - English
Additional Release Material:
Deleted Scenes: "Eminem Rap Battles"
Music Video: Eminem - "Superman"
Making Of: THE MAKING OF 8 MILE
Featurette: THE MUSIC OF 8 MILE
Interactive Features:
Interactive Menus
Scene Access

 Eminem: American rapper, 8 MILE
Kim Basinger: American Actress
Mekhi Phifer: Actor, CLOCKERS
Brittany Murphy: Actres, CLUELESS, GIRL, INTERRUPTED
Eugene Byrd: American Actor
Taryn Manning: Actor, CRAZY/BEAUTIFUL (2001)
Omar Benson Miller: Actor, 8 MILE (2002)
De'Angelo Wilson: Actor, 8 MILE (2002)
Michael Shannon: 
Evan Jones: American Actor, 8 MILE (2002)
Chloe Greenfield: Actor, 8 MILE (2002)

Curtis Hanson: Oscar-winning, director, screenwriter, L.A. CONFIDENTIAL

Brian Grazer: Producer
Curtis Hanson: Oscar-winning, director, screenwriter, L.A. CONFIDENTIAL
Jimmy Iovine: Producer, 8 MILE (2002)

Scott Silver: Director/Screenwriter

"...The movie is a success on its own terms because the director doesn't condescend to pop music..."
"...The rap sequences are shot and edited with the excitement of a crisply broadcast sporting event..."
"...8 MILE qualifies as a cinematic event by tapping into the roots of Eminem and the fury and feeling that inform his rap....Eminem wins by a knockout..."
"...Eminem is magnetic playing a version of himself....Basinger is entirely credible..."
"...An illuminating addition to that hall-of-funhouse-mirrors that is Eminem's persona..."
"...Eminem projects the downbeat sex appeal and scurrilous, dead-eyed yearning of a rap-world James Dean....It's a movie of catchy rebel-underdog power..."
"...Eminem shows real screen presence....8 MILE hits hard and provocatively close to home..."
"...Eminem possesses a furtive instinct as a performer..."